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Journal Manuscript Submission Guidelines

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

1. URISA Journal welcomes manuscripts and accompanying graphics and illustrations on all topics that are germane to information systems, their evaluation and implementation. Articles must be based upon sound scholarship and provide information that is relevant to information systems and associated disciplines.

2. Since the review process requires that voluntary evaluators spend a significant amount of time selecting papers for publication, the submission of a manuscript marks the author's intention to publish in URISA Journal. Therefore, the simultaneous submission of a manuscript to other journals is considered unacceptable. Also, manuscripts previously published through another publisher, either in a literal or approximate form, ordinarily cannot be accepted. Consult the editors if in doubt.

Upon receipt of an article for peer review, the URISA Journal typically will post the article on its web site under the heading "Articles Currently Under Peer Review by the URISA Journal." In this manner, the work of authors may be made available to others in as timely a manner as possible. However, URISA is not obligated to make such a posting but if such a posting is made the author agrees that the author is fully responsible for the material contained in such initial submissions.

There is no need for authors to permit URISA to post their draft articles on the web if they choose not to. Authors should not allow open posting of their submitted articles if they wish to remain anonymous in the peer review process. Please indicate this desire in your submission to us or we will assume by your submission that the draft article may be openly posted.

Also, the URISA Journal has no objection to the posting of a submitted article on a university, government or non-profit organization web site with the author’s permission while the article is being peer reviewed by URISA. In such a case, the following statement must be inserted at the top of the article: "Work in Progress Under Active Peer Review by the URISA Journal. Consult www.urisa.org for the current status of the review."

3.  All articles must be submitted in electronic format   (PC format only) and adhere to the Manuscript Formatting Requirements. Submissions can be accepted via email with an attached document file, on PC formatted 3.5" High-Density diskette, or on PC formatted Iomega Zip 100 Disks. Regardless of what method of electronic submission is used, the peer review process will not begin until the original signed Copyright Release form is received in the URISA office.

Submissions must be in MS Word format. All artwork, graphics, photographs, etc. are preferred in high-resolution tiff or eps format.  Minimin graphic size is 300 dpi at the size you would like the image to appear in print. (Sending a larger size is acceptable as we can reduce their size as necessary.  But we are unable to expand a smaller graphic to a larger size.)   Graphics should be embedded in the document and sent as separate file along with the document file. Camera ready artwork is also acceptable (photos, film, etc.) and can be sent to the URISA office along with the signed Copyright Release form.

If you make your submission on diskette, mail it to: URISA Journal Submissions, Attn: Managing Editor, 1460 Renaissance Drive, Suite 305, Park Ridge, IL 60068-1348. Please be sure to include the signed Copyright Release form along with your diskette.

If you make your submission via email, send it to: info@urisa.org. Please put ‘URISA Journal Submission’ in the subject field. Please be sure to mail the signed Copyright Release form directly to the URISA office so that it may be matched up to your email submission and the peer review process may begin immediately.

4. Most reviews will be done electronically. Reviewers are anonymous but authors may choose to be anonymous or not. In the review process most peer reviewers will gain access to a digital copy of the article from the open URISA web site at http://www.urisa.org or from a password protected web site for those authors preferring to remain anonymous. Reviewers will insert their comments electronically at appropriate locations in the text and make them stand out by placing double parentheses at the beginning and end of their comments. Example: ((This indicates a comment by a reviewer.)) If formatting is lost in a file transfer the reviewer comments should still be obvious. Alternatively, reviewers might highlight their comments by (using a larger size font and enclosing the comments) or (highlighting their suggestions in bold). They also may suggest that certain material should be struck (example: suggested strikes may be indicated in MSWord by highlighting suggested material to be struck and selecting the strike through effect found under the font menu in the  tool bar [e.g., refrigerator]). Any reviewer using these alternative methods must supply the editor with an rtf version of the edited file.

Reviewers also will be required to submit an electronic Article Review Form to the editor by e-mail. The editor will compile all of the peer comments and forward these anonymous comments as well as the decision of the editor regarding publication to the author(s). Some reviewers may choose to work on paper copies and, if so, those comments will be forwarded to the author(s) as well.

Manuscript Formatting Requirements

1. Manuscript Guidelines.

  • If printed on paper the submission would be single spaced with margins of one inch on all sides of 8>5" x 11" paper (A4).
  • Please use Times font (size 12) for as much of the text as possible.
  • There should be a single blank line between paragraphs with all paragraphs left justified and with no indentation for the first line.
  • From the title through the reference list, the preferred maximum length of an article is 8,000 words. This assumes the article contains no figures, tables or graphics. If these are included, the total maximum word length should be reduced accordingly. A figure one-inch high spanning the width of a page is equivalent to 100 words.
  • The article should begin with the title of the paper and the author’s name, address and e-mail address (if available).

2. Abstract. Next should come a one-paragraph abstract of approximately 150 words. For a research article, describe the primary objective of the work, any hypotheses tested, methods used, primary results of the work and primary conclusions. No acronyms should be included or defined in the abstract.

3. Style.

  • Use US conventions for forms of spellings and styles of punctuation.
  • Use acronyms sparingly. However, when used they should be spelled out the first time followed by the acronym in parentheses. Example: American Bar Association (ABA). Proper names with acronyms should have the first letters capitalized. Example: National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Non proper names or phrases should NOT have the first letter capitalized. Example: triangular irregular network (TIN).
  • Use emphasis sparingly. In the article submission and in the web version, emphasis should be shown with an underline. Such items will be converted to italics in the hard copy version of the Journal.
  • Numbers above 10 should use the numeric form (e.g.,10, 26, 46380,etc.). Numbers below ten should be spelled out unless used in a table or used to describe a unit of measure (e.g., 8 acres).
  • For those authors choosing to retain anonymity, please be careful that the text does not refer directly to your previously published work. In other words, avoid sentences such as: "The author’s previous work (Doe, 1997, p.109) revealed that…" If the paper is accepted, sentences may later be altered to reflect the above.

4. Citations in the Text.

  • Within the text, references should be cited by using the author’s name and year of publications. For example: Many employers and corporations have chosen to pursue a hands-off policy (Taylor 1915).
  • When using direct quotations, also include the page number(s). For example: "City planning and unified architectural design," according to Tunnard and Reed (1953:131), "were lost to these new communities."
  • Long quotations (five or more lines of typescript) should be indented five spaces. The text within a long quote should have a smaller font size than the body of the text. If one is using a 12 point font for the body, use a 10 point for the long quotation.
  • For two co-authors of a single work, cite both authors. For example: (Egenhofer and Frank 1992). For more than two co-authors, cite the first author and add et.al. For example: (Loveland et.al. 1991).
  • Multiple References to more than one work of a single author in the same year should be listed as a and b. For example (Goodchild 1998a, b).
  • Multiple references in the text should be listed chronologically rather than alphabetically. For example: (Zube 1973, Harley 1990, Frank 1994b, Black 1997).

5. References. References should be listed at the end of the text and not as footnotes. References should be alphabetized by the authors’ last names. When an author has more than one publication, arrange the references by placing the most recent one first. If more than one reference appears for a single author in a single year, label them a and b. For books, be certain to include place of publication and publisher; for a journal include volume, issue or month, and pages; for a proceedings include place of the conference, date and pages. Use only initials for first names of authors but do not abbreviate other words in the reference. If a reference is available in both a hard copy journal and on the internet, provide both references. Please refer to the following example references.

If necessary, explanatory notes may be used in addition to references. If used, these should be numbered consecutively and must be included just before the reference listing under a section titled: Notes.

6. Headings in the Text. For the electronic version of the article and for submission for review, all text including titles and headings in the article must be left justified. A sample template showing heading and appropriate spacing of text is available.

In Brief

First-Order Headings are in all capital letters and have a line space before the first paragraph begins.
Second-Order Headings have the first letter of each major word capitalized and have a line space before the first paragraph begins.
Third Order Headings also have the first letter of each major word capitalized but the text follows immediately on the line.
All headings are in bold. A single line space is inserted between all paragraphs.

7. Tables, Figures and Images.

  • All tables must be consecutively numbered throughout the article and each must have a title that explains its purpose without resorting to the text. The number and title should appear under the table and should not be incorporated in the graphic. Tables should be inserted by the author in appropriate locations in the text.
  • The same rules apply for figures.
  • Wherever possible, place the references to tables or figures at the end of a sentence. Try to avoid sentences such as " Table 1 shows that…" Instead use "the data indicate that all species were susceptible ( Table1)."
  • Collected figures for insertion will need to be in the .tiff format and will be no less that 300 dots per inch (DPI). The figures should also be sent in relatively the same size as they will appear in the Journal (small and about a quarter of a page).
  • Figures should always be cited within the text, preferably near the figure. Primary figure citation will always be on the same page as the figure unless the format does not allow for it.
  • The font size for the figure legends will be smaller than the body text. If the body text is 12 than the font size should be around 10.
  • Every table, figure and image needs a figure legend and the figure legend will always go below the figure.

8. About the Author. A section at the end of the article will be included titled: About the Author. This should include a two or three sentence biographical sketch summarizing the author’s education, professional positions, current affiliation, and research interests. Even if one wishes to retain their anonymity during the review process, an about the author section should be included. URISA staff will remove the section when it is posted on the web for review. Please notify the Journal Coordinator if anonymity is desired. Also, contact information will be listed in this section if the article is accepted for publication. Contact information should include a postal address and an email address.

9. Acknowledgments. Next may be included a section titled: Acknowledgements. All acknowledgements in the paper should be placed only in this section.

10. Authors will receive two copies of the hard copy version of the URISA Journal issue in which their article appears. Reprints of articles may be ordered, at cost, by the author. All articles appearing in the hard copy version of the URISA Journal will also be published on the URISA Journal web site.

11. Appendices. Should be in an accepted style format with proper alphabetization, indentation, and referencing.

12. Retain Copies. Be certain to retain an additional copy for your own files. All submissions must be typewritten and double-spaced on 8"x11" paper. Leave a margin of at least 1" on all sides. Double-space all material, including lengthy quotations, the abstract, notes, and references.

13. Anonymity. To ensure anonymity in the blind review process, authors should be careful that the text not refer directly to their previously published works. In other words, avoid sentences such as: "The author's (Doe, 1705, 1977) previous work revealed that." If the paper is accepted, sentences can later be reviewed to reflect the above.

Example References for Use in Articles Submitted to the URISA Journal

(a) Reference to a book

Black, C. L., Jr., 1997, A New Birth of Freedom: Human Rights, Named and Unnamed (New York: Grosset/Putnam).

Longley, P.A., M.F. Goodchild, D.J. Maguire, and D.W. Rhind (Eds.), 1999, Geographical Information Systems (New York: John Wiley and Sons).

Monmonier, M., 1991, How to Lie with Maps (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).

(b) Reference to an article in a journal

Egenhofer, M. and A. Frank, 1992, Object-Oriented Modeling for GIS. Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, 4(2), 3-19.

Harley, J.B., 1990, Cartography, Ethics and Social Theory, Cartographica, 27(2), 1-23.

Loveland, T.R., J.W. Merchant, and D.O. Ohlen, 1991, Development of a Land-Cover Characteristics Database for the Coterminous US. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 57(11), 1453-1463.

(c) Reference to a chapter in a book or article in a proceedings having a volume editor

Obermeyer, N.J., 1999, Measuring the Benefits and Costs of GIS. In Longley, P.A., M.F. Goodchild, D.J. Maguire, and D.W. Rhind (Eds.), Geographical Information Systems, (New York: John Wiley and Sons), 2, 601-610.

Laurini, R., 1994, Sharing Geographic Information in Distributed Databases. In Salling, M.J. (Ed.), URISA 1994 Annual Conference Proceedings, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 1994, 1, 441-454.

(d) Reference to an article in a proceedings without a volume editor

Chong, A., 1997, Extending the Role of Digital Image Landbases in Hybrid GIS, ACSM/ASPRS Annual Convention and Exposition Technical Papers, Seattle, Washington, April 1997, 2, 11-20.

Nebert, D. and J. Fullton, 1995, Use of Z39.50 to Search and Retrieve Geospatial Data. Proceedings of the Second Annual Conference on the Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries, Austin, Texas, June 1995, 107-114. http://www.fgdc.gov/clearinghouse/pubs/dli95/DLIpaper395.html

Sui, D., 1998, GIS and Society: A Tetradic Analysis from McLuhan’s Law of Media, GIS/LIS ‘98 Proceedings, Fort Worth, Texas, November 1998, CD-Rom

(e) Reference to an article on the Internet not published in a hard copy volume

Weiss, P.N. and P. Backlund, 1996, International Information Policy in Conflict: ‘Open and Unrestricted Access’ versus ‘Government Commercialization’, Conference on Information, National Policies, and International Infrastructure, Harvard Information Infrastructure Project, January 1996, http://ksgwww.harvard.edu/iip/GIIconf/weiss.html.

(f) Reference to a source on the Internet

U.S. Copyright Office, Report on Legal Protection for Databases (August 1997), http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/cpypub/db4.wp

Federal Geographic Data Committee, http://www.fgdc.gov/

Heading Formats

SAMPLE TEMPLATE FOR ARTICLE HEADINGS IN THE URISA JOURNAL

The above title is a first order title. A first order title should be made in all capital letters and would be used for major sections of the paper such as ABSTRACT, INTRODUCTION, CONCLUSION, etc. The title of the article is also a first order title. For the on-line version of the URISA Journal all headings are in bold. All titles and text are Times 12 font. Sentences begin one full line space after first order headings and a single line space is also contained between all paragraphs in the body of the text.

Second Order Heading

The above is a second order heading and sentences begin one full line space after second order headings. Again, a single line space is contained between all paragraphs in the body of the text.

Third Order Heading. The heading to the left is a third order heading and sentences follow on the same line after a third order heading. Fourth order headings are avoided in URISA Journal articles. Highlighting in the text should be used very sparingly and the preferred method for highlighting is by underlining.